Fort Matanzas

Fort Matanzas

1740-1742

1916-1917

late 1930s - 1946

1966

1970s

The original purpose of this building was as a fort.

This building serves as a living history museum as part of the National Park Service.

Located on Rattlesnake Island and built between 1740 and 1742 by the Spanish to prevent the British from sailing up the Matanzas River to attack the city, this inlet is known as the back door to St. Augustine. This is also the region where French Hugeunots, driven ashore during a September 1565 hurricane were killed by Pedro Menendez and his men if they did not recant their Protestant beliefs.

Before the construction of the fort, there was a watchtower first built in 1569. Fort Matanzas was built out of coquina just like the Castillo. The fort never took part in a large battle, but it was attacked by a small British unit under Georgia's Governer Oglethorpe in 1742. This was the only time the guns of Fort Matanzas were fired in defense. The soldiers stationed here spent more time giving navigation advice to visitors than fighting the enemy.

When the fort was decommissioned during the 2nd Spanish Period, it was abandoned and left to the mercy of nature.

In 1916-1917 restoration began. Additional work was done in the late 1930s to about 1946. Restoration or rehabilitation projects took place in the 1960s and 1970s to preserve the fort and/or Rattlesnake Island. In 1966 and 1975, archeaological digs were undertaken and after the 1975 dig, Dr. Kathleen Deagan from FSU recommended that additional archealogical work should be done including to sections of the fort.

Fort Matanzaas was declared a National Monument on October 15, 1924 under Calvin Coolidge by the War Department. On June 10, 1933, the Department of Interior also declared it a National Monument and it was transferred to the care of the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. Fort Matanzas is one of the sites in St. Augustine to be added to the Historic American Buildings Survey published March 1, 1941 (misspelled as Matansas). In 1966, Fort Matanzas was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

Fort Matanzas was a military installation for the Spanish and British.

Fort Mantanzas is part of the National Park Service System.

Fort Matanzas is open to the public. For tour information, please refer to Fees & Passes - Fort Matanzas National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

Fort Matanzas National Historic Monument
8635 A1A South
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Fort Matanzas

Fort Matanzas is located on Rattlesnake Island.

The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1872): Manucy, Albert C., ed. The History of Castillo de San Marcos & Fort Matanzas: From Contemporary Narratives and Letters. Washington, DC: United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service. Source Book Series 3. 1955.

Photograph 2 (c.1912): Rogero, Beth, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Charleston, SC: Acadia Publishing, 2008.

Photograph 3 (c.1968-1977): Arana, Luis Rafael and Albert Manucy. The Building of Castillo de San Marcos. [Washington, D.C.]: Eastern National Park & Monument Association for Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, 1977.

Photograph 4 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of Fort Matanzas." January 29, 2023.

The following St. Augustine Fiction books feature this historic site as a location:

“Fort Matanzas: National Monument; Florida.” NPS History eLibrary. August 1, 2024. http://npshistory.com/publications/foma/index.htm.

Rajtar, Steve, and Kelly Goodman. A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. 1^st edition. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2007.

Flagler College’s Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository are neither the original nor current copyright owner for the photographs. Please contact the publisher or source cited for each photograph to obtain a copy and/or permission to reproduce these items.

This record was last updated on June 4, 2025.